“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me, tried me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked to anger with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.” So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.” Hebrews 3:7-11

The author is quoting Psalm 95 as a pointer to the readers about God’s heart towards disobedience or rejection of His way. He is reminding us that there is an expectation of action once God reveals Himself to us. The Hebrew peoples hardened their hearts to Him and His ways, which provoked God to not allowing them to enter the promised land. But what does it mean to harden our hearts? Have you hardened your heart to God? Well, the word harden is – σκληρύνω (sklērynō), which means to harden or to become obstinate or stubborn. So we can paraphrase the Lord’s words to saying this – because the people were stubborn to changing their ways and adopting the ways of God, He was provoked to anger and they were not allowed to enter into the promised rest.

The same is still true for us today, how many Christians are there today that walk around claiming to be following Jesus, yet their ways are still the same as the world around them? The author of the letter is reminding us that once we have had the revelation of Christ Jesus as the Son of God, we must change. We must ensure we are not being stubborn children holding onto our old ways and instead turn our hearts towards the Living God who set us free from slavery unto death.

Today reflect are you being obstinate or stubborn towards the ways of God?